The 2018 Standard Bank Ironman 70.3 Buffalo City is set to be a launching pad to a big year for East London’s top triathlete Clinton Gravett, who is gunning for a strong performance tomorrow.
Gravett, who has not raced since the last Ironman 70.3 in the city where he finished a solid 10th, will be looking to impress among a strong field.
“This is the start of a big year for me,” said Gravett.
“I would like to qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Champs which is in PE, so that is the year goal.
“I haven’t raced since Ironman last year. It was a year of work, so I am quite keen to race again.”
As it is his first race in a year, Gravett will need to hit the ground running.
“With it being the first race of the season there will always be a few cobwebs, so it is going to be a bit of a shock to the system. But luckily my swim and my bike are quite strong so I should be okay,” said Gravett.
The top seed for the race is Evert Scheltinga from the Netherlands, followed by 2015 and 2016 champ Matt Troutman and then two German athletes in Johann Ackermann and Florian Bogge.
The other top South Africans in the mix include Gerhard de Bruin, Rudolf Naude and Bradley Weiss, while other athletes come from around the world including Brazil, USA France, Italy and Belguim.
“Matt Trautman is always one to look out for. He is a phenomenal biker. Quite a few guys have pulled out which has also made it a little more interesting, while there has been a lot of hype about Bradley Weiss,” said Gravett.
On the women’s front the challenge will be led by Great Britain’s Susie Cheetham, who has finished on the podium a number of times in this race, without being on top.
She put in a massive effort in last year’s race and was in the end just beaten by seven time champ Jodie Cunnama (nee Swallow), who is out having given birth in November, and Cheetham will want to take the top spot this time round.
“I would love to be on that top step. I have been here quite a few times and I have had some really challenging races here. I have had a crash, I’ve had food poisoning, but I always come back,” said Cheetham.
Despite Cunnama missing out and also a few other withdrawals, including fourth seed Parys Edwards, also from Great Britain, who injured herself on a training ride on Thursday, it is still an extremely strong women’s field.
“To be honest I think that it is a tougher field than last year. Jodie is a great athlete but you’ve got Emma Pallant who came second at the 70.3 World Champs, where she was only beaten by Daniela Ryf, who is arguably the best in the world, and for Emma to come second I would say she is really one to beat,” said Cheetham.
“Another strong competitor is a local girl, Jenny Seymour, who came in the top five at the 70.3 World Champs, so there is definitely a really strong field.”
In all 2402 athletes will be lining up on the Orient Beach tomorrow morning spanning across 32 countries.
The action kicks off at 6.45am, with the professionals setting off first, before the age group athletes get going with a rolling start.
Also excited for the event was Ironman’s official car sponsor Avis, with their southern Africa chief executive Rainer Gottschick saying, “Avis values our partnership with Ironman, and continues to support all the Ironman events nationally. With our footprint of over 114 branches we involve our brand ambassadors at the water points, showing our support to the athletes.”
Gravett keen to perform
Gravett, who has not raced since the last Ironman 70.3 in the city where he finished a solid 10th, will be looking to impress among a strong field.
“This is the start of a big year for me,” said Gravett.
“I would like to qualify for the Ironman 70.3 World Champs which is in PE, so that is the year goal.
“I haven’t raced since Ironman last year. It was a year of work, so I am quite keen to race again.”
As it is his first race in a year, Gravett will need to hit the ground running.
“With it being the first race of the season there will always be a few cobwebs, so it is going to be a bit of a shock to the system. But luckily my swim and my bike are quite strong so I should be okay,” said Gravett.
The top seed for the race is Evert Scheltinga from the Netherlands, followed by 2015 and 2016 champ Matt Troutman and then two German athletes in Johann Ackermann and Florian Bogge.
The other top South Africans in the mix include Gerhard de Bruin, Rudolf Naude and Bradley Weiss, while other athletes come from around the world including Brazil, USA France, Italy and Belguim.
“Matt Trautman is always one to look out for. He is a phenomenal biker. Quite a few guys have pulled out which has also made it a little more interesting, while there has been a lot of hype about Bradley Weiss,” said Gravett.
On the women’s front the challenge will be led by Great Britain’s Susie Cheetham, who has finished on the podium a number of times in this race, without being on top.
She put in a massive effort in last year’s race and was in the end just beaten by seven time champ Jodie Cunnama (nee Swallow), who is out having given birth in November, and Cheetham will want to take the top spot this time round.
“I would love to be on that top step. I have been here quite a few times and I have had some really challenging races here. I have had a crash, I’ve had food poisoning, but I always come back,” said Cheetham.
Despite Cunnama missing out and also a few other withdrawals, including fourth seed Parys Edwards, also from Great Britain, who injured herself on a training ride on Thursday, it is still an extremely strong women’s field.
“To be honest I think that it is a tougher field than last year. Jodie is a great athlete but you’ve got Emma Pallant who came second at the 70.3 World Champs, where she was only beaten by Daniela Ryf, who is arguably the best in the world, and for Emma to come second I would say she is really one to beat,” said Cheetham.
“Another strong competitor is a local girl, Jenny Seymour, who came in the top five at the 70.3 World Champs, so there is definitely a really strong field.”
In all 2402 athletes will be lining up on the Orient Beach tomorrow morning spanning across 32 countries.
The action kicks off at 6.45am, with the professionals setting off first, before the age group athletes get going with a rolling start.
Also excited for the event was Ironman’s official car sponsor Avis, with their southern Africa chief executive Rainer Gottschick saying, “Avis values our partnership with Ironman, and continues to support all the Ironman events nationally. With our footprint of over 114 branches we involve our brand ambassadors at the water points, showing our support to the athletes.”
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